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ICAO Level 6 Vocabulary: Civilian Supersonic Aircraft

ICAO Level 6 Vocabulary: Civilian Supersonic Aircraft

What are Civilian Supersonic Aircraft?

Probably you’ll think of a dart-shaped supersonic jet airliner manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale, a predecessor of Airbus Industries) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) used mainly by British Airways and Air France carriers named Concorde. It was unique and prestigious thanks to its maximum speed, which was 2.4 Mach and the possibility to smash through the sound barrier as a non-military airliner. Unfortunately, Concorde in its full glory belongs now to the past. A tragic Air France 4590 Concorde plane crash, which took place on 25th July 2000, changed the situation of a high-climbing queen of the sky forever. Check a short documentary about the Concorde below.

What’s more, Concorde wasn’t the only supersonic jet to carry passengers. The Tupolev Tu-144 was the second commercial supersonic jet and its prototype was presented publicly two months before a Concorde took off to the skies for the first time. Unfortunately, two fatal accidents grounded the Tupolev passenger fleet.

Synonyms for a ‘Supersonic Aircraft’

First of all, let me share some synonyms what to say instead of a ‘supersonic aircraft’:

– An aircraft that flies faster than the speed of sound exceeding Mach number 1,

Subsonic, Transonic, Supersonic, Hypersonic

– A supersonic aircraft = a supersonic jet = supersonic travel = “is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound (Mach 1). For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) at sea level, this speed is approximately 344 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph, 667 knots, or 1,235 km/h.” (source: Wikipedia)

– A hypersonic aircraft is the one that flies at speeds above Mach 5.

The interior of British Airways Concorde in Manchester Aviation Viewing Park

The distinctive parts of the Concorde

Overall Construction

– Predominantly used for the military and experimental purposes,

– Aircraft guzzled four times as much fuel per passenger as a standard airline,

– It entered service for civil use as airliners / to enter commercial service,

– To take off and land at low speed,

– Concorde never had an onboard APU installed,

– A “time-travelling” machine as Concorde was faster than the Earth’s rotation,

Vapor cone

– Prandtl–Meyer expansion fan is formed when the sound barrier is broken.

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet with a double vapour cone

Collocations

– The speed of sound,

– Carry passengers at twice the speed of sound,

– Set a new journey speed record,

– Complete its journey in less than 3,5 hours,

– Travel across the Atlantic,

– Most of the flight time was spent in supercruise (tu supercruise = to fly at sustained speed over Mach 1 without relying on afterburners),

– Reach the noise abatement altitude,

– To witness the phenomenon,

– Abruptly exceed the speed of sound,

– Fly at twice the speed of sound,

– Smash through the sound barrier = to beat the sound barrier on the edges of space,

– A one-and-only experience,

– At transonic speed,

– Make a sonic boom,

– The shockwave that emanates from a supersonic aircraft,

– Restrict Concorde flying over land to subsonic speeds = overland supersonic flights are banned in the US and Europe

– On the approach, the droop nose tilted down at 5 degrees.

Your Concorde Experience

Now it’s time for me to listen to your voice. Did you have any Concorde experiences? I’d love to hear your memories from childhood or adolescence. Or maybe you had this uniquely special opportunity to pilot Concorde? Let me know if you have had! I remember when my Dad shared his impressions when he was allowed to visit Concorde that has flown to Warsaw in the late ’80s. Oh, by the way, he took a picture of British Airways Concorde standing on the apron at John F. Kennedy airport dated back to May 2002. Technically it’s doesn’t match any standards of a professional photo but the sentimental value for me is worthless. Please let me know if this article helped you expand your Concorde-related vocabulary and don’t forget to let me know about your personal Concorde memories 🙂

A Concorde picture was taken by Jerzy Barski

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Emilia Barska

About me

General English teacher and Aviation English specialist. Devoting her free time to sharing her expert knowledge how to pass an ICAO exam with flying colors. She enjoys reading crime stories, listening to heavy metal music and sipping a vanilla latte.

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